Pickpocket: A Statistical Analysis

Robert Bresson

Pickpocket (1959) is the story of an introverted man, Michel (played by Martin Lassalle), whose feelings of superiority drive him to become a petty criminal, a pickpocket. The story is told in the form of a diary and this structure emphasizes the character’s internal struggle. In terms of camera style, long takes are used infrequently and camera movements are almost exclusively motivated by character movement.

In terms of the average shot length (ASL) and pacing, when Michel is alone or is not interacting with people the ASL is slower (a higher figure), which affects the pacing. A similar effect occurs during the crime scenes. As the art of pick pocketing involves internal control, the pace is slower so the spectator can understand the mechanics of thievery and perhaps what may be transpiring in Michel’s mind. The opposite is the case when Michel engages in conversation with people. His mind seems to become distant and not accessible during these moments. In these scenes the ASL is faster (a lower figure), giving the spectator very little time “alone” with the main character.

Most of the transitions used in the film are straight cuts. Michel narrates the story and cuts illustrate the ‘facts’. Other types of transitions used are dissolves and fade outs. The dissolves are used after the diary images and at times following shots of human faces. The fades and dissolves act as temporal transitions or shifts to new events

Shot 2- 0:02:02-0:02:25 (.23)
· (In the race tracks). The shot starts with a CU of a purse
· A woman’s hand takes the money from the purse and gives it to a gentlemen in a black suit
· Camera reframes on the money
· Man takes the money and approaches the teller’s window
· Camera slightly tilts up and then pans left following his movement
· Cut to

Shot 5- 0:02:47-0:03:06 (.19)
· MCU – Michel in slight low angle
· As Michel approaches the race track, the camera follows him from behind as he nears a woman in front of him
· Michel positions himself behind a woman
· Camera frames her face (as she turns her head to face him) in a CU
· Cut to

Shot 16- 0:04:49-0:05:09 (.20)
· LS – Michel walks by two men and they start to follow and arrest him
· Camera pans left and tracks forward following crowd
· Voice over: “I thought I was mastering the world. One minute later, I was caught.”
· Dissolve

Shot 20- 0:05:30-0:05:41 (.11)
· CU – money on the table
· Michel leaves the room
· As Michel takes the money the camera reframes to keep the money in frame and than pans left showing Michel approaching the door
· Cut to

Shot 24- 0:06:10-0:06:29 (.19)
· MCU – Michel enters his room
· Voice over: “I wanted to set my ideas to rights. I felt dog-tired, and slept like a log.”
· Camera tilts down when Michel sits and then lays on the bed and finally reframes to his face
· Fade out

Total: 1’20” (80”)/8 shots = 10” ASL

SCENE 3: Michel goes to his mother’s apartment and meets Jane

Shot 25- 0:06:29-0:06:42 (.13)
· Fade in
· MS – Michel descends from the tramway and approaches the building
· Camera tracks back
· Cut to

Shot 26- 0:06:42-0:06:49 (.07)
· The shot starts with an image of empty stairs (high angle)
· MS – Michel enters the frame from the left and camera tilts up to a straight-on-angle
· Cut to

Shot 27- 0:06:49-0:07:02 (.13)
· MCU – Michel continues walking up the stairs
· Voice over: “I hadn’t seen my mother for a long time. I was hesitating.”
· Camera reframes as he reaches the door
· Camera pans right as he looks down to see who is talking
· Cut to

Shot 28- 0:07:02-0:07:07 (.05)
· MS – Jane and her sister (high angle)
· Jane says: “Wait. I have the key, I’ll open the door for you.”
· Cut to

Shot 63- 0:11:25-0:11:42 (.17)
· Fade in
· Camera pans R following Michel as he buys a bus token and then walks screen right toward the camera (image changes to MS)
· Cut to

Shot 64- 0:11:42-0:12:12 (.30)
· MS – Michel sits down on the bench on the subway platform
· Voice over: “A few banknotes…was I in need of that? Was I really expecting something? But I hated the idea of going home.”
· Camera tilts down, then up
· Dissolve

Shot 80- 0:15:41-0:15:55 (.14)
· MS – Michel and other people get out of the subway train
· Camera pans right following Michel
· Cut to

Shot 81- 0:15:55-0:16:27 (.32)
· MS – Michel
· Camera tracks forward to Michel and reframes his hands as he takes the money out of the stolen wallet and pans left as Michel walks away
· Voice over: “This first success encouraged me. It was due more to chance than cleverness.”
· Fade out

Total: 2’23” (143sec)/9 shots = 16” ASL

SCENE 8: Michel meets with Jacques

Shot 82- 0:16:27-0:16:42 (.15)
· Fade in
· MS – Michel is sitting at the bar
· Camera tilts up and tracks back as he stands up
· Cut to

Shot 89- 0:17:20-0:17:48 (.28)
· Fade in
· MLS – Michel at the subway station
· Voice over: “I never took the same route. I always traveled on different lines.”
· Camera reframes Michel as he descends the stairs and later tracks Michel laterally as he walks on the platform
· Dissolve

Shot 90- 0:17:48-0:18:09 (.21)
· MLS – Michel descends from the subway train
· Camera tracks forward and later reframes Michel in a low angle as he walks up the stairs
· Cut to

Shot 91- 0:18:09-0:18:27 (.18)
· People and Michel are walking up the stairs (high angle)
· Camera tilts up from a black briefcase to the back of its owner says: “Give me my wallet back.” Michel’s face is shown
· Cut to

Shot 94- 0:18:36-0:18:47 (.11)
· SRS – Man with the briefcase
· Michel gives back the wallet and as he runs out, camera pans left
· Fade out

Total: 1’27” (87sec)/6 shots = 14” ASL

SCENE 10: Jane and Jacques come to Michel’s apartment – Michel sees the Thief for the first time

Shot 95- 0:18:47-0:19:07 (.20)
· Fade in
· MCU – Michel is in his apartment. He approaches the door, turns off the lights and closes the door
· Voice over: “I stayed home the following days…going only to eat.”
· Camera tracks forward slightly
· Cut to

Shot 122- 0:24:12-0:24:29 (.17)
· FS – Michel approaches his apartment
· Voice over: “I went home only to sleep.”
· Camera tilts down (the image changes to a CU of Michel’s shoes) and pans left framing the letter on the floor (high angle)
· Dissolve

Shot 123- 0:24:29-0:24:57 (.28)
· CU – letter on the floor (high angle)
· Voice over: “How long had it been here?”
· Camera tilts up as Michel picks up the letter
· Cut to

Shot 176- 0:33:42 -0:33:53 (.11)
· SRS – Jacques and Michel go out. Michel turns off the lights. That darkness is used in the next shot as a transition to a fade in.
· Camera tracks forward slightly as they exit
· Fade out

Total: 1’31” (91sec)/14 shots = 6” ASL

SCENE 19: Michel, Jacques and the Inspector in the bar conversing about pickpockets

Shot 185- 0:35:10 -0:35:14 (.04)
· SRS – Michel tells him that he can borrow it
· Cut to

Shot 186- 0:35:14 -0:35:23 (.09)
· SRS – Inspector does not accept the offer of a book loan, but rather asks Michel to stop by the police station the next day and bring the book with him
· Camera slightly tracks forward as Inspector leaves
· Dissolve

Shot 213- 0:38:16 -0:38:56 (.40)
· MCU – Michel enters his room
· Voice over: “There was no disorder. Everything was o.k.”
· Camera reframes and dollies in close up on the money and the watch behind the bed
· Fade out

Shot 232- 0:42:08 -0:42:27 (.19)
· Dissolve to the same image of the table as in the previous shot
· Jane and Jacques come back to the table, camera tilts to reframe Jacques
· Jacques wonders where Michel is
· Dissolve

Shot 253- 0:46:22 -0:46:28 (.06)
· Shot of garbage and the same purse being thrown into the garbage
· Cut to

Shot 254- 0:46:28 -0:47:04 (.36)
· MLS – Camera dollies forward to follow an elderly men walking toward the ticket booth, with his wallet in his hand. Camera focuses on the wallet. Another man enters frame with folded newspaper which he uses to steal wallet. Man walks screen left past another man who he passes the wallet’s contents to
· Camera tilts up to reveal Michel (at the end)
· Cut to

Shot 255- 0:47:04 -0:47:42 (.38)
· MLS – Man walking
· Camera tracks laterally with one man (undercover detective) who leaves frame R. Camera picks up a second man a suitcase, who puts suitcase down, steps over to newsstand (reframe) then back to suitcase. He picks it up and begins to walk. Camera tracks right
· Cut to

Shot 256- 0:47:42 -0:47:50 (.08)
· CU – suitcase
· Camera tracks the suitcase and then tilts up along the back of the suitcase man
· Cut to

Shot 260- 0:47:55 -0:48:15 (.20)
· Starts as CU – the stolen wallet is put into a coat pocket
· Camera tilts up as the man walks away, pans left to follow two other men (detectives) who pass through turnstiles. Michel enters and exits frame.
· Cut to

Shot 261- 0:48:15 -0:48:30 (.15)
· MCU – Camera looking out from train. People walking on the platform. Man who had wallet stolen enters and stops in front of train car door. He walks up stairs into car. Michel enters frame.
· Cut to

Shot 262- 0:48:30 -0:48:40 (.10)
· MCU – same man in the train compartment
· Camera reframes his pocket to show Michel stealing his wallet when he hoists his suitcase on top of his compartment
· Cut to

Shot 263- 0:48:40 -0:48:52 (.12)
· MCU – the wallet is passed to the another thief
· Camera reframes and tracks back
· Cut to

Shot 264- 0:48:52 -0:48:57 (.05)
· CU – another men passes by the thief, a hand steals his wallet
· Camera pans left
· Cut to

Shot 265- 0:48:57 -0:49:06 (.09)
· CS – same man puts down his baggage and walks back the same way
· Cut to

Shot 266- 0:49:06 -0:49:15 (.09)
· CU – money is taken from the wallet
· Camera reframes the empty wallet being put back into its owner’s pocket
· Cut to

Shot 268- 0:49:20 -0:49:29 (.09)
· CS – passenger
· Camera tilts up Michel’s hand as he helps a man to get on the train. Michel steals his wrist watch. Camera pans from Michel’s hand putting the watch into his pocket and another wallet that has been passed onto him.
· Cut to

Shot 282- 0:51:09 -0:51:42 (.33)
· MS – Michel walks out of the station
· Voice over: “Had they seen me? I mustn’t seem to be hiding.”
· Camera tracks forward as Michel leaves station
· Fade out

Total: 1’14” (74sec)/3 shots = 25” ASL

SCENE 28: Inspector tells Michel about his theory – a warning?

Shot 283- 0:51:42 -0:52:00 (.18)
· Fade in
· MS – Michel is in his room
· Camera tilts down to bed and then pans left as he opens the door
· Cut to

Shot 284- 0:52:00 -0:52:04 (.04)
· MS – Michel
· Cut to

Shot 285- 0:52:04 -0:52:22 (.18)
· MS – Inspector enters his room
· Camera follows his hand as he checks for dust on Michel’s book and then tilts up to the Inspector
· Cut to

Shot 286- 0:52:22 -0:52:25 (.03)
· MS – Inspector sits down
· Cut to

Shot 287- 0:52:25 -0:52:40 (.15)
· MLS – Michel tells him that if he has any proof that he is a thief, he should arrest him
· Camera pans with Michel from door to middle of room
· Cut to

Shot 288- 0:52:40 -0:52:44 (.04)
· SRS – Inspector
· Cut to

Shot 289- 0:52:44 -0:52:53 (.09)
· SRS – Michel screams that he has enough of the accusations. He picks up a book
· Camera moves with the book as Michel throws the book down onto the floor in anger
· Cut to

Shot 361- 1:02:38 -1:02:58 (.20)
· CU – Diary: “From Milan I went down to Rome. After that, England. During my 2 years in London, I was in luck. But girls and gambling made me loose most of my dough. I went back to Paris as before.”
· Dissolve

Shot 423- 1:11:44 -1:12:30 (.46)
· Fade in
· MS – Michel is in his prison cell
· Camera reframes as he goes to the door and back to his bed.
· Voice over: “There was something I hadn’t told her. Why should I live? I hadn’t decided yet. Jane didn’t return.”
· Fade out

Shot 433- 1:14:07 -1:14:30 (.23)
· SRS – Michel kisses Jane returns the kiss on his hand
· Voice over: “O Jane, in order to reach you…what a strange way I had to take.”
· Camera dollies in to CU of their embraced faces
· Fade out

Total: 2’00” (120sec)/10 shots = 12” ASL

1:14:30 – 1:14:41 (.11) – Final Credits

Total running time of film 1’14’41” (4481sec)
Total running time of film minus credits 1’12’38” (4358sec)/433 shots = 10 ASL